Mechanical Properties of Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch (EFB) - High Density Polyethene (HDPE): Influence OfProcessing Techniques

The objective of the project is to investigate the effects of varying processing
techniques on tensile properties and flexural properties of empty fruit bunch (EFB) -
high density polyethylene (HDPE) composites. Dried empty fruit bunch fiber of5 mm
in length was compounded with HDPE matrix using extruder machine at 150°C. The
resulting compound is further processed using either an injection molding or
compression molding to obtain the tensile test bars. Samples obtained from both
processing techniques were subjected to tensile test and flexural test. Finally, the
tensile properties and flexural properties obtained from both processing techniques
were analyzed and compared. The samples from injection molding process exhibited
better tensile properties and flexural properties compared to those fabricated using
compression molding. This was due to pore spaces or voids within the compression
molding samples. Furthermore, the voids between the EFB fibers and HDPE matrix
could also be the reason for poor mechanical properties of both injection molded and
compression molded samples. The effect of EFB fiber were negligible in tensile test,
but it shown a large significant in flexural strength as the percentage difference of
flexural strength and flexural modulus showed the highest in each properties with
value of 31% and 30%. These results indicate that processing technique does have an
influence on the mechanical properties of the EFB-HDPE composites.
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